A Middle Jurassic sauropod tracksite in the Argana Basin, Western High Atlas, Morocco: an example of paleoichnological heritage for sustainable geotourism

A Middle Jurassic site at Tafaytour area (Argana Basin, Morocco) with trackways of six large sauropod dinosaurs is regarded as having high scientific and touristic value. The new dinosaur track site is extremely vulnerable, and suffers from continuous degradation caused by weathering and human activity. Documentation and protection of this tracksite is still a necessity for its integration into local geotourism activities, where it may have a socio-economic impact on the local population. Taking into consideration many similar tracksites, and strata of great paleontological interest in Morocco, including the Tafaytour tracksite, the implementation of legislation for the protection of Morocco's geological heritage, especially the paleoichnological heritage, to protect against destruction, is strongly recommended. This is necessary to cement geoheritage impact, both for scientific reasons and to value add to the socio-economic activities of the local people. (C) 2013 The Geologists' Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.